A district court judge today threw out an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution banning same-sex marriage that was passed by 78 percent of the state’s voters.
In rejecting the amendment, which won overwhelming support at the polls Sept. 18, Judge William Morvant said it failed to pass constitutional muster because it had more than one purpose – banning both same-sex marriage and civil unions.
Though the Louisiana Legislature passed a same-sex marriage ban last spring, proponents argued it had to be put in the constitution to prevent the courts from overturning it, as was done in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reported.
The news service says the suit by amendment opponents also cited the New Orleans election-day problems, when voting machines were delivered late in many precincts, and the argument that the amendment should not have been on the ballot on a day when there was no statewide election.
As WorldNetDaily reported, a homosexual lawyer arguing against the amendment in August lost his temper in a Louisiana courtroom when a fellow attorney called him a “homosexual.” John Rawls’ face turned red and he lunged at the attorney defending traditional heterosexual marriage.
“No one calls me the H-word,” Rawls said in defense of his outburst.
The lawyer insisted he was not a homosexual, but, rather, a “gay” man.
